Election Theft - Quickie Update

The suit that Kerry-Edwards was going to file on Wednesday was filed this afternoon.

On Monday afternoon, Kerry-Edwards' state counsel for Ohio filed a motion in to preserve evidence related to the state's presidential recount, RAW STORY has learned. Specifically, the motion seeks to preserve all ballots and voting machines for investigation and analysis, and to make a Triad Election Systems technician available for a sworn deposition. Triad had previously been accused of tampering with voting machines in Ohio....

Meanwhile, Blackwell refuses to be interviewed.

Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell has requested a protective order to prevent him from being interviewed as part of an unusual court challenge of the presidential vote.

Blackwell, in a court filing, says he's not required to be interviewed by lawyers as a high-ranking public official, and accused the voters challenging the results of ``frivolous conduct'' and abusive and unnecessary requests of elections officials around the state.

Another republican who thinks he's above the law ...this is getting ridiculous.

The Ohio Election Fraud blog weighs in with this piece from the Columbus Free Press:
What Are They Hiding??? Major television networks refuse to release data to Congressional inquiry

...As of yet it's been hard to explain why the controversies in Ukraine make the headlines, but when similar problems are discovered at home, you have to scour the Internet to find the information.

It certainly isn't for lack of events on which to report. Members of The House Judiciary Committee have been meeting regularly reviewing evidence of systematic voter suppression and voting machine tampering. A coalition of lawyers have filed a lawsuit against the Bush campaign citing deliberate manipulation of votes. Sworn testimony and signed affidavits have implicated companies, individuals, and a Florida congressman.

And as always The Brad Blog is diligently reporting on new developments.

Update: The Free Press has an update on the Blackwell story, it seems Mr. Blackwell refused to appear at a deposoition yesterday, Dec. 27.

COLUMBUS -- Ohio Republican Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell refused to appear at a deposition on Monday, December 27. The deposition was part of an election challenge lawsuit filed at the Ohio Supreme Court. Meanwhile John Kerry is reported to have filed a federal legal action aimed at preserving crucial recount evidence, which has been under GOP assault throughout the state.

Richard Conglianese, Ohio Assistant Attorney General, is seeking a court order to protect Blackwell from testifying under oath about how the election was run. Blackwell, who administered Ohio's November 2 balloting, served as co-chair of the Bush-Cheney campaign.

James R. Dicks, Miami County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, filed a motion to block a subpoena in his county while Conglianese filed to block subpoenas in ten key Ohio counties.

President George Bush, Vice-President Richard Cheney and White House Political Advisor Karl Rove received notice that they will be deposed Tuesday and Wednesday, December 28 and 29. The trio's Ohio attorney, Kurt Tunnell, so far claims his clients have not been properly served. Under Ohio law, the Republican-dominated Ohio Supreme Court is responsible for serving the three with subpoenas.
...

Ask your senators to support an election investigation!, and the link to the actual petition is at ContestTheVote.org.

Update 2: Gathering in Chicago on December 30th at 5 PM to Petition Barak Obama to Permit Challenge to Ohio Electors

And via the 2004 Election Fraud blog we get this continuous vigil outside the Kerry residence, and another petition to not certify the vote.

That should satisify the activist in all of us... for a while.

Moyers on "The Media" and Democracy

This morning I came across this speech Bill Moyers gave on the state of the media and its' impact on democracy. Read, listen or watch the entire piece, it's well worth the time.

...God knows we need some “media reform.” I’m sure you know those two words are really an incomplete description of the job ahead. Taken alone, they suggest that you’ve assembled a convention of efficiency experts, tightening the bolts and boosting the output of the machinery of public enlightenment, or else a conclave of high-minded do-gooders applauding each other’s sermons. But we need to be – and we will be – much more than that. Because what we’re talking about is nothing less than rescuing a democracy that is so polarized it is in danger of being paralyzed and pulverized.

Alarming words, I know. But the realities we face should trigger alarms. Free and responsible government by popular consent just can’t exist without an informed public. ...Only 13% of eligible young people cast ballots in the last presidential election. A recent National Youth Survey revealed that only half of the fifteen hundred young people polled believe that voting is important, and only 46% think they can make a difference in solving community problems. We’re talking here about one quarter of the electorate. The Carnegie Corporation conducted a youth challenge quiz of l5-24 year-olds and asked them, “Why don’t more young people vote or get involved?” Of the nearly two thousand respondents, the main answer was that they did not have enough information about issues and candidates. Let me rewind and say it again: democracy can’t exist without an informed public. So I say without qualification that it’s not simply the cause of journalism that’s at stake today, but the cause of American liberty itself. As Tom Paine put it, “The sun never shined on a cause of greater worth.” He was talking about the cause of a revolutionary America in 1776. But that revolution ran in good part on the energies of a rambunctious, though tiny press. Freedom and freedom of communications were birth-twins in the future United States. They grew up together, and neither has fared very well in the other’s absence. Boom times for the one have been boom times for the other.

...

Democracy Now has the full transcript, there are also links to audio and video streams. Bill Moyers: "Our Democracy is in Danger of Being Paralyzed"

Update: 'Falluja and the disappearing media' - I'm throwing this into the mix as an example of MSM failure/complicity in the Iraq debacle.

Gadafy / Quadafi / Daffy Duck

An interesting observation on Moamar of the Many Tents and Chimp of the Brush Hogs from Ryan at A Man Could Stand Up.

(Okay, so it's a slow day at work...sue me.)

Pro-life? Prove it.

No tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean and affected countries

SINGAPORE : A tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean could have saved thousands of lives after the Sumatra earthquake.
But the system does not exist currently, because tsunamis are a rare occurrence in the region.

Here is an idea for progressives and "pro-life" majority in this country. Maybe the United States could take a small chunk out of its military budget, the amount being spent in Iraq for the war, and the paying of no-bid contracts for Dick Cheney's retirement and instead help these affected nations to develop a reliable early warning system. I'm not too familiar with the history of natural disasters, but I would think this is easily one of the most deadly ever. Its true that tsunamis like this are very rare, but we have the technology to help save some lives in these occurrences, and there is no excuse now for other nations to lack this type of system.

The death toll for this catastrophe has now risen to over 24,000. And if the current trend continues, this number is old news. It seems that everytime I've heard or seen a report that gives a number, I'm immediately able to find another report with a larger number. But I'm not going to look for more such reports anymore... its far too depressing.

Update: Tsunami Death Toll Climbs to 52,000 & WHO: Disease Could Double Asia Death Toll

Tsunami Photos

Dec. 27, 2004

Welcome to All Spin Zone!

While you're here, please visit our main page for more tsunami relief updates and general blogging and chatter about politics and current events.

The unfolding magnitude of the disaster spawned from yesterday's Indian Ocean tsunami is simply overwhelming. From Joe Gandelman's Moderate Voice comes a link to these pictures and on-scene blogging from Thailand:

Post-tsunami photos

Tsunami blogging

Photos of the tsunami in progress (password = abc123)

Once again, the blogosphere beats the mainstream media to the punch.

Update, 7:55PM: Here's a link to a new website on the SE Asia tsunami, which includes news, updates, and information on relief efforts.

Update, 1/2/2005: Further ASZ tsunami blogging can be found here, here, here, here, and here.

Juggling Chainsaws

In a previous post, I scratched the surface in describing the number of chainsaws that the Bush administration is concurrently juggling. In my personal recollection of political history, I can't find one instance where an administration was trying to keep so many core issues in the air at the same time. From Iraq to Social Security, from judicial appointments to same sex marriage, the Bush administration is dealing with a dizzying array of cultural, political, and policy problems.

There has to be a limit to the skill of the juggler, when one more roaring McCullough becomes one implement of destruction too many, and the whole act comes crashing down. It's a given that at some point, someone is going to lob another running chainsaw into the mix - and the whole juggling act will fall apart.

In a recently famous (unattributed) quote from a BushCo official, the wankers-in-charge are creating their own realities. We at ASZ have cast those realities as "Bizarro World", a reference inspired by Superman comics rendition of a looking glass into the human condition where up is down, right is left, and the insane is sane.

Without my having to cite specific examples from just the past week, folks, we're already there. When the Democratic Party of FDR and JFK has apparently decided to abandon support of Roe-v-Wade; when one of my great hopes for the future (Harold Ford) has determined that dismantling Social Security is a good thing, we've arrived.

It's December 27th, 2004, and we're about as close to the bottom as we can get.

Which means that everything looks up from here.

Why do I make such a bold proclamation? Because the dam has to burst sometime soon. The 51%'ers who looked at Bush during the past election cycle and determined that he was the best option between two mediocre candidates are already having second thoughts. Buyer's regret, if you will. His own job performance numbers and crumbling support for the situation in Iraq clearly indicate that he's heading for some rough waters. His minions in Congress will look at the local numbers and start to increase distance. Bank on it.

We've tossed around the impeachment option here, and decided that a GOP-controlled House and Senate is not going to impeach Bush under any circumstances. He could be nabbed with kiddy porn on the Oval Office computer, and he'd still skate, because someone would make up an excuse for him. That's been the story of his life.

And yet, I remain delusionally optimistic that the sum of Bush's transgressions will result in an awakening of his base and an affirmation by his detractors that what George Bush represents is not a reflection of America, despite what the past election might imply. "Bush Unchained" is not what returned him to office. A lack of true vision by the DNC and Kerry Campaigns is what set up Bush's bare majority election theft.

As progressives, it's now our mission to say, "I told you so" to both major political parties.

But beyond "I told you so" lies a challenge to lay out a better vision for where we go from here. That's been the most frustrating thing for me since November 2nd. In my heart, I know the answer, but in my gut, I know my answer isn't what the 51%'ers (or many of the 49%'ers, for that matter) want to hear - that leadership is fallible, and that sometimes, kneejerk decisions made in an effort to pander to core beliefs are just plain wrong.

When BushCo finally drops the chainsaws that they're juggling, and public opinion allows progressives regain some steerage of a government run amuck, we have to be ready to stand for something.

What is that "something"? And where do we start?

If I ever figure out the answer to either of those questions, I'll let you know...

A Really Stupid Question

I'm sitting here tonight at my computer desk, working on an extensive piece for later posting. I have my legs folded up in my office chair "indian style", typing with my left arm resting on my left knee, and my right arm supported by the instep of my left foot.

Question: Am I weird, or just really limber for someone 50 years old?

Discuss.

Bush's Watergate?

On the heels of the ACLU release of an email and memo trail last week, the Washington Post reports in today's edition that 10 current and former detainees at the American Gulag in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba have retained attorneys and lodged complaints:

Further Detainee Abuse Alleged :

At least 10 current and former detainees at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have lodged allegations of abuse similar to the incidents described by FBI agents in newly released documents, claims that were denied by the government but gained credibility with the reports from the agents, their attorneys say...

...Brent Mickum, a Washington attorney for one of the detainees, said that "now there's no question these guys have been tortured. When we first got involved in this case, I wondered whether this could all be true. But every allegation that I've heard has now come to pass and been confirmed by the government's own papers."

Between this, tied to Abu Ghraib, and the ongoing investigation of the Valerie Plame outing, I have to believe that there's some serious shit bubbling just below the surface. The ACLU info that sukabi and I posted about earlier this week received some good feedback, and you can pick up linkage to the ACLU documents from those threads. If there's any justice in this life, the denial-heads in Washington are going down in flames over these war crimes, along with the denier-in-chief.

Nixon rode into his second term with Watergate hanging over his head, yet it still took some time for the case to mature. We can only hope that the wheels of justice continue cranking. The stories can't be buried forever.

Can they?

The Day After (and your Sunday Naomi)

Hope everyone had a great day yesterday...even with the holiday, certainly a lot has been happening around the world. We wake this morning to an unfolding disaster in the Pacific Rim, caused by a large magnitude offshore earthquake and subsequent tidal wave. Update, 12/27/04: Joe Gandelman @ Moderate Voice has a stellar roundup of Asian (and other) blogs who are directly following this disaster.

I'm not sure what BushCo could have had to do with this, but one of our valued readers proposed the scenario posed at this link as a possibility (me, I'm more of a 'mother nature acting up' kind of guy). Here's another link for discussion and breaking news regarding this crisis. The death toll is currently pegged at 7,000, rising by the hour, and is expected to increase dramatically in the coming hours and days.

Domestically, George and Laura had a peachy Christmas at Camp David; they're heading out to clear some brush in Tejas today. Did you forget to send a card to Maximum Leader? Tsk, tsk. Anyway, ML called for "compassion toward the sick and suffering" in his annual Christmas address, urging Americans to volunteer to help the neediest among their fellow citizens. Hey, George, did you forget that more than 45 million uninsured are relying on faith-based healthcare? They're praying they or their families don't get sick, because they can't afford it. I hope a midwife or two heeds his call.

Meanwhile, the replay of the disputed election in the Ukraine is taking place today. Interesting how a bit of civil unrest can throw the results of a fradulent election into doubt. Also interesting is the fact that Bush's good friend Vlad Putin has backed away from his homeboy, and is now vowing to work with whoever is selected. In the rerun of the Ukraine election, the winner seems pretty much predetermined - all reports point to opposition leader Viktor Yushchenkol as the probable winner - but the Ukraine will be left with its own version of red state / blue state.

And finally, no Sunday would be complete without a bit of kibbutzing from my favorite citizen of the world and progressive pundit, Naomi Klein. Today, Naomi posits that the U.S. government is now deploying the "Pottery Barn Defense" in its failure to acknowledge failure, and throwing good money (and lives) after bad in Iraq.

Have a cup of coffee on me, and enjoy your re-entry to the real world. Unfortunately, due to budget cuts and crappy planning on our part, a parachute to ease your re-entry is strictly optional and at your own expense. Kind of like personnel and military vehicle armor in Iraq, if you think about it.


(P.S. - Haloscan is being a cranky bitch today...just keep after it...if you're moved to comment, it will work eventually. Try reloading if the comment window doesn't open properly the first time.)

Do They Know?

Back in 1984, a group of musicians got together and performed a song for African hunger relief. Around this time of the year, you can flip the dial on the radio and hear it about every 10 minutes. While it was written for a specific cause at the time, the sentiment behind the song is as true today as it was 20 years ago. Substitute another area of the world, another conflict, another cause, and the feelings expressed in "Do They Know It's Christmas" are what reside at the core of every person who considers themselves a "progressive".

Is it OK to be selfish today and put the rest of the planet out of our minds? Of course. I don't think anyone could cognitively function while in a constant state of handwringing over the condition of the human species in general, or political misfortune in the U.S., in particular.

But there is a bigger picture than a Hallmark Christmas. Our collective good fortune to be born into relative Western affluence doesn't absolve us of working to right the wrongs we perceive, in whatever capacity we can. Whether it's shouting into the void of cyberspace, marching in civil protest against the status quo, or accepting a personal mission someplace where it's needed, just for the sake of the need itself. That is what the spirit of this day is about.

It doesn't matter a whit if one is Catholic, Protestant, agnostic, Muslim, Jewish, athiest, or any spiritual destination in between; the core message of the story of Jesus is exceedingly simple (and so, so missed by the old testament fundamentalists who are running this country hell-bent-for-leather into the ground):

Galatians 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

From my heart, I wish everyone in ASZ's wonderful community a happy and safe Christmas - and I relish the opportunity to be sand in the gears of the machine in the coming year. ;-)

It's Christmastime,
there's no need to be afraid
At Christmastime,
we let in light and we banish shade
And in our world of plenty
we can spread a smile of joy
Throw your arms around the world
at Christmastime

But say a prayer,
pray for the other ones
At Christmastime it's hard,
but when you're having fun
There's a world outside your window,
and it's a world of dread and fear
Where the only water flowing
is the bitter sting of tears
And the Christmas bells that ring there
are the clanging chimes of doom
Well tonight thank God it's them
instead of you

And there won't be snow in Africa this Christmastime
The greatest gift they'll get this year is life(Oooh)
Where nothing ever grows
No rain or rivers flow
Do they know it's Christmastime at all?

Here's to you raise a glass for everyone
Here's to them underneath that burning sun
Do they know it's Christmastime at all?

Feed the world
Feed the world
Feed the world
Let them know it's Christmastime again

Feed the world
Let them know it's Christmastime again

A Holly Jolly Open Thread

I don't know how much anyone's going to be around over the next 24 - 48 hours, so jussssst in case, here's an open thread to stick in your peace pipe and smoke.

Remember, we didn't start the fire.

Let's All Make Merry!

Isn't that what this holiday is all about? Isn't it about being merry and lots of fun music written so everyone can sing them?

Evidently the right wing clerics of the Republican Party think Mr. Bush is wrong to have his White House celebrate as such, at least according to worldnetdaily. It seems these folks are not beneath putting as much pressure as they can on the Shrubster. As far as I'm concerned, and have expressed for a long time, he's hooked up with people who have no morals, just as the neocons have none. Here's how the "journalism" in worldnetdaily puts it:

While President Bush was re-elected last month in an election victory many attributed to an outpouring of support by evangelical Christians impressed with his candid outspokenness about his faith, some Americans notice the White House website lacks even a single mention of Jesus, whose birth is celebrated by hundreds of millions worldwide Dec. 25.

The official White House site proclaims this as the "Season of Merriment and Melody" – not the birth of the Savior of the world.

It won't be long before these folks will be howling like the devil to whip young Georgie into line. The evidence mounts daily, if not worldnetdaily. And, no, as disgusting as their lack of gratitude towards their chosen leader is, it is far from surprising.

I've been away a while, having now completed my move to Philly, and I thought I'd leave you today with some lyrics of a progressive Christmas tune. This is one those folks wouldn't touch, that's for sure, but heard on Stan Rogers' Between the Breaks . . . Live! it will bring you to tears:

First Christmas

This day, a year ago, he was rolling in the snow
With a younger brother in his father's yard.
Christmas break - a time for touching home
The heart of all he'd known, and leaving was so hard -
Three thousand miles away, now he's working Christmas Day
Making double time for "the minding of the store"...
Well, he'd always said he'd make it on his own
He's spending Christmas Eve alone.
First Christmas away from home.

She's standing by the train station, panhandling for change
Four more dollars buys a decent meal and a room.
Looks like the Sally Ann place after all,
In a crowded sleeping hall that echoes like a tomb
But it's warm and clean and free and there are worse places to be,
And at least it means no beating from her Dad
And if she cries because it's Christmas Day
She hopes that it won't show...
First Christmas away from home.

In the apartment stands a tree, and it looks so small and bare
Not like it was meant to be
The Golden Angel on the top, it's not that same old silver star
You wanted for your own
First Christmas away from home.

In the morning, they get prayers, then it's Crafts and tea downstairs
Then another meal back in his little room
Hoping maybe that "the boys" will think to phone before the day is gone
Well, it's best they do it soon.
When the "old girl" passed away, he fell more apart each day
Each had always kept the other pretty well
But the kids all said the nursing home was best
'Cause he couldn't live alone...
First Christmas away from home.

In the Common Room they've got the biggest tree
And it's huge and cold and lifeless,
Not like it ought to be
And the lit-up flashing Santa Claus on top
It's not that same old silver star you once made for your own
First Christmas away from home.

Recommended listening, folks. And it is good to be back, no doubt.

If ...

If I think I'm the last sane human being on the planet does that make me insane?

I've been able to take a couple of hours to indulge myself today. Mr. Keys went off to tune a piano. He's just back now. But I was able to not work at work. And not work at home. I chose, as my mini vacation, to watch the DVD of a film I saw in the theater when it was first released last year, I, Robot. Now, mind you, I'm a science fiction-raised baby. Cut my teeth on all of it thanks to my father and the burgeoning SF culture of the 50s and 60s. I grew up in the hayday of middle period SF. I've read almost every Isaac Asimov novel and story ever written. I won't name all of the other authors. And I've read ALL the Asimov robot stories. And my Dad read to us from Alfred Bester's "The Stars My Destination" late nights, a lot of nights, along with assorted 19th century poetry and other SF.

So, today I watched it at home on my computer... I was all alone. Such freedom. I had the speakers turned up full blast... and I didn't remember much of it from my theater visit. I knew what would happen in the end, but the details of the film had left my mind, and I was dazzled by the Will Smith/Dale Spooner character line early on, as I was in the theater. I paraphrase as I did above:

If I think I'm the last sane human being on the planet does that make me insane?

If you've not seen the film, bear in mind that they made something cerebrally SF into something more action film oriented. Still, and you have to know, I'm a harsh critic of schlocky SF... it's pretty good, and this is why. It appeals to a larger meaning, about uniqueness and consciousness. It's set in Chicago of 2035. It hangs onto the human foibles of greed and grasping for power, but it goes far beyond that.

Now if you really want to do it up right, you'll read Asimov's entire robot series. But, if you can't do that, you should still rent or buy the film if you haven't seen it, or even if you have. ;-)

Understand that SF for me has always been a well-understood metaphor for life as we know it now, robots and extra-terrestrials notwithstanding. These days on the Happy Planet, when everything's twanged out beyond all twanging, the SF part of my brain says... yes, it's scary, but "we" already know about all of this, so there's nothing much to worry about.

My morning with Will Smith and Sonny the Robot was strangely but rightly comforting for me.

I'll just add that I think there are many of us who wonder about what it means to be the last sane human being on the planet. My end of the year affection goes out to all of you "last sane human beings".

Lilly Livered GOP-lite

Democratic Leadership Rethinking Abortion

When is the moron contingent of the Democratic Party going to figure out that the way to move forward is not to pander to the anti-choice crowd? They'll never be in the Dem's column, anyway. The idea needs to be to distinguish the party from the GOP, not blend into it.

Sheesh.

On the other hand...this could be the best thing to ever happen to the democratic wing of the Democratic Party. There would most certainly be a call for a strong, progressive third party were the anti-choice crowd to take over the DNC.

In the True Spirit of the Holidays...

I've been a big Seinfeld fan since the show first aired. Even several years after Jerry, Elaine, Kramer, and George's last episode, it's still the funniest show on television, and is about the only thing I watch with any regularity.

There are so many classic episodes that it's hard to pick out just one as my favorite, but in the spirit of the season, I give you Festivus For the Rest of Us.

Got aluminum pole?

You can air your grievances in the comments below, but I ain't wrasslin' no one.

Heating Up or Last Gasp?

(Click on the image for complete details at Raw Story - Rep. Conyers has become the designated waterboy for the Democratic Party on election fraud issues. My respect for him in this role is immense.)

All the Terrorism Nooze Youse Can Use

Nekkid Terrorism: Only a Matter of Time...

...before a representative of the American Taliban wingnut contingent siezes on this story and says, "Yeaaaaah, what a greeeat idea!" I guess the fundie peeping Tom's south of the border were getting offended...

You know it's coming.

MEXICO CITY - Alarmed by glimpses of sweaty citizens in the buff, the city council in the southeastern city of Villahermosa has adopted a law banning citizens from allowing themselves to be seen nude by the public, even while in their own homes, officials confirmed Wednesday.

The regulation, which takes effect on Jan. 1, 2005, calls for as much as 36 hours in jail or a fine of $121 for offenders in the Tabasco state capital, 410 miles east of Mexico City.

'We are talking about zero tolerance ... for a lack of morality,' said city councilwoman Blanca Estela Pulido of the Revolutionary Institutional Party, which governs the state and city...

Copy Cat Terrorists: Speaking of "south of the border"...

From Texas comes the following:

The first cloned-to-order pet sold in the United States is named Little Nicky, a 9-week-old kitten delivered to a Texas woman saddened by the loss of a cat she had owned for 17 years.

The kitten cost its owner $50,000 and was created from DNA from her beloved cat, named Nicky, who died last year...

The company that created Little Nicky, Sausalito-based Genetic Savings and Clone, said it hopes by May to have produced the world's first cloned dog — a much more lucrative market than cats...

A completely hypothetical question: if a clone of a past President runs for election, would that be a violation of the 25th Amendment?

Just askin'.

Terrorists on the Lam: Burka-clad Bandits Terrorize Philly

Like the Wingers need another reason to hate...

...Philadelphia police said at least 10 recent robberies of small businesses - including gas stations and convenience stores - follow the pattern in West and Southwest Philadelphia. In each case, thieves are wearing the traditional Islamic dress known as a burka.

In addition to the robberies, burka-clad thieves have held up four area banks, according to the FBI. Two other banks were robbed by a lone woman who fits the description in the other heists.

"We don't have enough information to make a direct connection between all the crimes," said FBI Special Agent Jerri Williams, "but the coincidences are all there..."

French Terrorists Mug Santa

He knows if you been naughty or nice...

A group of French teenagers have mugged Father Christmas, attempting to steal his sack of presents. The man dressed as Santa Claus was handing out sweets in the southern town of Ales when things turned nasty.

One of the teenagers demanded extra sweets and, when the red-cloaked Santa refused, he and his friends started kicking and pummelling the man.

Father Christmas suffered multiple bruises and has lodged a criminal complaint...

This ASZ newsbreak has been brought to you by the word "terrorism" - because you just can't say it enough!

Heh.

Completely, absolutely, not remotely connected with politics, world events, or any of the other hobgobblins that are gnawing at my ankles right now:

After the kind of day I had today (one of those days when I was totally out of synch with the entire planet), I needed a laugh-out-loud kind of experience. Allow me to share.

Run, Don't Walk to the Nearest Exit

In the last couple of days, as the violence in Iraq has escalated, there have been several reports of the security situation improving. Somebody forgot to forward that memo to a major contractor responsible for rebuilding Iraq's transportation infrastructure.

Contrack International Inc. has reportedly become the first major US contractor to pull out of the reconstruction effort in Iraq (news - web sites), adding that high security costs were to blame.

"We reached a point where our costs were getting to be prohibitive," company president Karim Camel-Toueg told the Los Angeles Times.

Contrack, based in Arlington, Virginia, had won a 325-million-dollar award to rebuild Iraq's shattered transport system.

US officials said Contrack's decision to terminate work in Iraq was reached with the US government in November, but had not been publicly disclosed.

So, according to this report they were awarded the contract in March 2004. Since then things have gone so swimmingly that they've managed to refurbish a few train stations and do some site assessments and design work:

In the eight months Contrack was under contract in Iraq it was paid about 30 million dollars, mostly for site assessments and design work, company and US officials told the daily.

The Conrack partnership intended to build new roads, bridges and transportation terminals in Iraq, but only managed to refurbish a handful of train depots, company officials said.

Who is Contrack International Inc.?

Established in 1985, Contrack International Inc. is a privately owned U.S. business with headquarters in Arlington, Virginia and offices in Egypt, Israel and Qatar. The company receives international public works and defense projects financed by the U.S. government. Since 1990, Contrack has completed contracts totaling more than $467 million and is currently operating in Egypt, Qatar, Russia and Bahrain. In 1998, Orascom Construction Industries, the largest private construction firm in Egypt, acquired 45 percent of Contrack . Egyptian-businessman Naguib Sawiris, son of the founder of Orascom and a former board member, owns the controlling interest in Contrack, according to a trade publication. Sawiris, whose family is Egypt's answer to the Rockefellers, holds U.S. citizenship, which allows Contrack to be eligible for certain U.S. government financed projects. The two companies also have a non-compete agreement on U.S. government financed projects in Egypt.

In 1950, Onsi Sawiris, chairman of the board of Orascom, founded the company, which has now been restructured into three companies: Orascom Construction Industries, Orascom Projects & Touristic Development and Orascom Technologies. His three sons, Naguib, Nassef and Sameeh are involved in running the companies....

When asked for comment a spokesman for Contrack gave the following reply:
"Security? we don't need no steenking security. We're getting the hell out, now."

Well, that would have been the honest reply anyway.

Gazing into the Crystal Ball

Homeless Honored Around the Country

A couple of weeks back, my wife and I drove into center city Philly for dinner with friends. At the bottom of the exit ramp for Columbus Ave. was a homeless man with a sign - a "will work for food" kind of deal - indicating he was a Vietnam war vet.

My wife pulled $5 out of her purse and asked me to give it to the guy.

Being an old hand at dealing with streetcorner homeless in Philly, I challenged her. "How do you know he's really a vet?"

"Does it matter?" she shot back.

I thought about it for a moment, rolled down the driver's window, and passed him the money.

How many homeless veterans are there?

Although accurate numbers are impossible to come by ... no one keeps national records on homeless veterans ... the VA estimates that more than 299,321 veterans are homeless on any given night. And, more than half a million experience homelessness over the course of a year. Conservatively, one out of every four homeless males who is sleeping in a doorway, alley, or box in our cities and rural communities has put on a uniform and served our country ... now they need America to remember them.

Why are veterans homeless?

In addition to the complex set of factors affecting all homelessness … extreme shortage of affordable housing, livable income, and access to health care … a large number of displaced and at-risk veterans live with lingering effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and substance abuse, compounded by a lack of family and social support networks.

Statistics and more at National Coalition for Homeless Veterans.

How many more (present and future) has Maximum Leader created with his Excellent Iraqi Adventure™?